


Bad Moon Rising

by InfiniteRabbits



Series: Magpie Moon [5]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23651443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteRabbits/pseuds/InfiniteRabbits
Summary: (Complete, Sonic Fanfiction, Sonic OC)When a certain evil hedgehog makes his way back into the picture, Amy Rose comes up with a plan to possibly rid them of the green menace once and for all. Too bad for Sonic and the gang, someone in another time in another dimension has already tried this idea with another overly-powerful hedgehog. The results might be just as disastrous here.
Relationships: Rouge the Bat/Scourge the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog/Original Character(s), jet the hawk/original character
Series: Magpie Moon [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721782
Kudos: 3





	1. Trouble On The Way

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Rated M for crude language. Let's face it, Scourge has arrived. Things are gonna get a heck of a lot more interesting in here.  
> Also note: The views of Scourge do not reflect the views of the writer. Anything he says or does are within the realm of his character.  
> Also also note: This story is named after the song of the same name and the chapter names are all lyrics. Thanks for reading!

“I want that hedgehog! I authorize full use of anything! Just bring him down!”

Sirens blared all around the prison as all hell broke loose. Zone Cops were still left chasing down the last of the stragglers from the prison-break, and Warden Zobotnick was losing his mind over the fact that not a single one of them could seem to catch the green menace. Scourge dodged every attempt with ease as he bounced here and there along the tirade of inmates, cops, and even missiles being shot in his direction. 

The hedgehog laughed as he landed a kick right into some poor sap’s face. Oh how he’d miss this delicious chaos! Scourge had been locked up in that prison for who knew how long getting the crap kicked out of him by every inmate who thought they were tough. Boy did he show them who was boss now that his inhibitor collar was off!

“Hey babe, we’re ready to roll!”

Fiona’s voice was enough to pull him from his excited daze. Even with as much fun as he was having, he was ready and raring to get out. With a quick turn on his heels, the hedgehog was already headed for his new gang, reveling in the sight of his girlfriend wearing his jacket and specs. 

“Then  _ roll _ , already! Get me  _ outta  _ here!”

With a grin and a wave at the Warden, Scourge jumped effortlessly through the portal. The tall man screamed in frustration as he gripped at his scalp. Zonic’s words echoed through his mind. The premier Zone Cop had already warned him that the Destructix being held in the same place as Scourge was a recipe for disaster. 

Zobotnic was never going to hear the end of it. He just knew it.

With a loud groan, he reached to make a call on his communicator. 

“Send me Major Snivley. We’ve got a  _ lot  _ of cleaning up to do,” he grumbled. 

“Yes sir,” came a soft female voice on the other side. “Would you like me to inform Mister Zonic of the situation as well.”

There was a long pause as the man contemplated his options. There was just no getting around it. He’d have to report to H.Q. sooner or later.

“Yeah, send out the call.”

\---

Fiona shuddered--something about this place was just  _ wrong _ , but she couldn’t quite put a finger on  _ why _ . The ground smelled stale and the air always felt as though it had a layer of smog choking her with every breath. No matter how gross it was, it was still the world  _ her man  _ came from. That tiny piece of information was all it took to make her tolerant of Moebius’s existence. It was much better than Mobius for that fact alone.

“I brought us back to your home world for a reason,” Fiona explained. “Our employer has a job for us here.”

Scourge scoffed as he pulled his beloved jacket on. He’d been in prison rags for far too long. The smell of the leather brought back good ol’ memories of the fights and trouble he’d gotten into, and he could swear he still smelled a little bit of liquor on it. 

“Too bad. This gang’s got a change in plans.”

“Scourge, Finitevus isn’t the type of guy you jerk around. It took a lot to convince him we needed you for this.”

The green hedgehog was always stubborn. That was something Fiona had accepted long ago. However now wasn’t the time to be caught up in things that would only make his situation worse. He’d only just gotten free, after all. The last thing the Destructix needed was to be marked as an enemy of the man who hired them. 

“You let me worry about Dr. Spooky Von Evil! Right now you’re  _ my  _ gang. You follow  _ my  _ plans. And believe me, I’ve got big plans for both this world  _ and  _ Sonic’s.”

There was suddenly so much energy behind her that Fiona had to try and center herself. She could feel the rowdiness of the Destructix starting to boil over. They’d wanted a leader, and here he was. They wanted to fight, to hunt, and to  _ kill _ . It was almost too much for her. The fox promised herself that she would do whatever she had to do to free her man and to make things up to him for having to leave him behind. She’d do anything he wanted to show him how much she loved him. 

But this was already getting so intense. 

“Babe,” she sighed out, reaching to touch his arm. “I can’t wait for your revenge plot. Really, I can’t. But don’t you think you should take a day or two to rest and hash things out? You just got out of prison.”

With a scowl, he yanked his arm away from her. Who the  _ hell  _ did this girl think she was?! 

“I’ve been cooped up in there for way too damn long,” Scourge spat out. “I don’t need  _ rest _ . What I  _ need  _ is  _ action _ !”

“But I--”

“No buts! How many warp rings do ya got left?”

Fiona flinched back. Sure she loved it when he took control, but this was ridiculous. 

“Not many,” the fox muttered as she pulled up her bag for a peek. “Looks like five.”

Getting ahold of that many to begin with had been the biggest pain in her ass. It took a heck of a lot of manipulation, money, and back-stabbing to get them all. Warp rings weren’t exactly the easiest things to come by in this day and age. 

“Pull one out,” Scourge commanded. “We’re goin’ to Mobius Prime.”

Fiona grumbled as she reached into her bag, trying to ignore Flying Frog as he bounced up and down beside her. The murderous amphibian wanted to play with these “ _ friends _ ” the hedgehog had described and the sheer anticipation was eating him alive. Even Predator Hawk had to admit that he was  _ itching  _ to hunt. The only two that seemed calm about the situation were Lightning and Sergeant Simian.

“Scourge,” the fox tried just once more. “I still think that we should--”

A gasp left her lips as her boyfriend grasped her wrist so tight that it  _ hurt _ . The look in his eyes was enough to tell her that he wasn’t about to argue about this, but the growl he let out sent a shiver down her spine. 

“We are going to  _ Mobius. Fucking. Prime.  _ **_Now_ ** _. _ ”

Fiona averted her gaze as she nodded. She really didn’t want to go, which was an unfortunate thought that the warp ring picked up on as the fox threw it up into the air. The instant the portal appeared, the Destructix made their way through it with a simple motion from their leader. 

“That’s better.”

  
Scourge smirked and reached to give Fiona’s cheek a condescending pat or two before he followed them along. The touch felt strange to the fox as she made her way through the portal behind them. Scourge had done hard time before, but nothing had ever felt as though it had made a dent on his psyche. For some reason, this particular prison had left an impact on him. Something had  _ changed  _ and she wasn’t sure she liked it.


	2. Rivers Overflowing

“ _Pleeeeaaase_ , Clover?”

“No.”

“Oh come ooon~”

“Absolutely not.”

“Just think of it as _confidence training._ ”

“Rouge, I’ll sound _awful_!”

“That doesn’t _matter_ , we’re here to have _fun_!”

“ _Says you_ ,” Wave finally interrupted. “Would you knock it off already?”

The swallow grumbled as she glared across the table at Rouge. Going to a bar to get information about a treasure hunt was one thing, but sitting in a dirty hole-in-the-wall while drunkards sang their poor little hearts out on a half-busted karaoke machine wasn’t exactly her idea of a good time. The cat that was currently wailing into the microphone was making her feel like all life had lost meaning. 

Why Rouge even hung around a place like this, Wave would never know. It was dirty, it had peanut shells all over the ground, it felt as though a bar fight would break out at any moment, and she was pretty sure she’d smelled piss on the way in. It seemed like the _opposite_ of _anything_ Rouge would even like. The bat was always about jewels, fine wine, and elegant settings. _Apparently she also had a rough and tumble streak in her_. 

“Look, sometimes you just gotta take a deep breath and go for it,” Rouge sighed between sips of her wine. “Now I won’t force you to if you don’t wanna, but I’m just sayin’ that sometimes you just gotta let loose and jump into the fray.”

Clover groaned as she reached to tug at her own ears. The faster she gave in to Rouge’s desires, the faster they would probably be able to get out of there. The way the microphone kept squealing was _killing_ her. 

“If I do this, can we _leave_?” the rabbit asked.

“Promise,” Rouge agreed, crossing her finger over her heart. 

“ _Fine_.”

“You’re actually giving in to this peer pressure?” Wave gawked. 

“You wanna leave, don’t you?”

Well, the rabbit had her there. The bat was all grins as Clover finally stood from her seat. 

“Look, I’m gonna go to the bathroom, I’m gonna take a shot, and then I’ll do it,” she agreed. “I need a minute to psyche myself up.”

“You got it, honey!” 

Rouge shot her friend a thumbs up and Wave rolled her eyes as the rabbit walked away. Boy, what an evening _this_ was turning out to be. The swallow was honestly questioning if this was really training, or if the ex-thief just wanted to see how bad Clover was about to botch this up. She was thankful for their friend’s temporary exit, though. As much as she hated being alone with Rouge, there was something the two of them needed to discuss. 

“Hey, we need to have a _talk_ ,” the swallow started. 

“Oh?”

Rouge’s smile immediately fell from her face. Trying to stay cordial around their friends was one of the hardest parts about being around Wave. With as much bad blood as the two had between them, it was a miracle they weren’t throwing hands at any given opportunity. Even with Rouge’s lady-like mannerisms, she still wished that just once she could throttle the swallow. With a sigh of annoyance, she swirled her wine in her glass.

“ _Go on._ ”

“So that thing Clover does when she’s hanging out with Jet?” Wave motioned to her own feathers. “She’s… kinda gotta stop that. I don’t really know how to bring it up to her though. I figure you _live_ with her, so maybe you could--”

“Woah woah,” Rouge held both of her hands up as she scoffed. “You’re seriously asking me to tell her to _stop being affectionate_ with her _friend_? What, _you got a thing for Jet_ or something?”

“Be _serious_ , would you?” Wave huffed. “You know nothing about birds do you, bat-breath?”

“ _Why yo--_ ”

“When she runs her fingers through his feathers like that? She’s essentially telling him she wants to be _his mate_ ,” the swallow interrupted. “So if she doesn’t want him, she’s gotta _stop_.”

For a moment, Rouge looked incredibly shocked. It was typical, really--most mammals didn’t seem to know about the differences in culture when it came to bird Mobians or reptiles. What Wave _didn’t_ expect was for the bat to burst out into a loud bout of laughter. 

“H-hey! _This isn’t funny_!”

“Oh no, it _totally_ is!” Rouge chuckled out. “Does Jet not realize that she does that with pretty much everybody? She brushes my hair for me sometimes. Doesn’t mean she wants to bang _me_.”

While it was true not everyone liked physical affection all that much, it was obvious to the bat that Clover had certain quirks when it came to her friends or anyone she considered close to her. They were simple things like playing with their fur or feathers, nuzzling her nose into their cheeks, hugs and other little things of that nature. Perhaps it was because Rouge was another mammal that she had taken it in stride. Anything out of the ordinary, like the nuzzling, she just assumed to be a rabbit thing. 

That wasn’t to say that Clover was overly touchy. In fact, she distinctly remembered a time where Tails had specifically asked _not_ to be touched, and Clover easily respected the young fox’s boundaries. The fact that she’d known the Rogues for months now and no one had said anything until this very moment told Rouge that they were _terrible_ at communicating. 

“Alright, _alright_ ,” the bat said, letting out the last of her giggles. “I’ll have a talk with her if you want.”

“ _Thank you_ ,” Wave said with an exasperated sigh. 

“She probably doesn’t even realize what she’s doing. I’ll have her let Jet down gently.” The bat paused to take a slow sip of her drink. “ _It’s not like he had a chance anyway_.”

Now _that_ ruffled Wave’s feathers. While Rouge technically agreed to do as she asked, the way all of it was laid out in front of her had the swallow suddenly feeling incredibly protective of her leader. Sure he was a bit on the _annoying_ side, but who was _Rouge_ to say that he didn’t have a chance getting the girl he was after?

“Excuse me, _what_?”

“Oh come _on_ , look at him!” Rouge scoffed. “He’s a _mess_. He’s easily distracted, he’s got a short temper, his voice is _so hard_ to listen to! I could go on and on. He’s a sweet kid, but he’s got nothin’ on Shadow.”

“ _Shadow_? Ha! You mean your _edgelord, loser friend_?” Wave laughed, taking delight in watching Rouge bristle up. “At least Jet’s pretty open with his feelings. Besides, I think Clover would be a better addition to the Babylon Rogues with her talents. She does want to be a _treasure hunter_ , doesn’t she? Why bother continuing to live with _you_ when you're just a _washed out old hag_?”

Rouge’s hands balled into fists so tightly that it hurt. As angry as she was, she refused to give Wave the satisfaction of seeing her stand and scream in the middle of the rowdy crowd around them. 

“And she’d be better off with a _back-stabbing_ swallow who wouldn’t know good teamwork if it bit her on the beak?” the bat hissed. “She’s better off with _us_ because we’re actually _stable_. If Clover ran off with Jet, he’d get her _killed_.”

It went from a simple girl-to-girl talk to personal potshots before either of them realized it. The actual concern for their friends was gone now, and all that mattered was the competition with _each other_. 

“You know what? I’m so _certain_ that she’d be better off with _Jet_ that I’d be willing to _bet money on it_.”

While something in the back of her mind nagged Rouge to stop, her anger shoved it so deep into her that the thought was extinguished completely. If Wave wanted a fight, then she was gonna get one!

“ _You’re on!_ ”

Meanwhile across the room, another fight was breaking out. Fiona was at a loss for words as she leaned against the bar. She swirled her drink nervously as Scourge let out an over dramatic sigh, thankful that most of the Destructix was out securing them a base. The only one at their side was Lightning, who was so quiet that she hardly realized he was there. 

“I can’t believe you brought us to the _wrong fuckin’ zone_ ,” Scourge said for probably the thousandth time that evening.

“Babe, _I said I was sorry_ ,” Fiona replied, rubbing her temples. “What _else_ do you want me to do?”

The look he shot her spoke volumes. It was _venomous_ , and it was a look she had revelled in seeing him give to other people. When it was aimed at _her_ , however, it was a completely different story: the fox _hated it_. It hurt to think that _this_ much damage had been done to their relationship. Fiona blamed Sonic for their drift apart, completely ignoring that it had been doomed from the start. Scourge wasn’t exactly known for being a stand-up guy--at one point had been cheating on Buns Rabbot with Alicia Acorn _and_ Penelope Platypus all at once, and she went ahead with him anyway. 

Lord knew who else he might have been with in the time Fiona was on his arm. Perhaps she’d hoped to change him, as many women did with “bad boys.” Maybe she’d hoped that she could be _the one_ to break him out of his cheating ways and would be his one and only for the rest of time. 

With the way he was currently _looking over the bartender’s cleavage_ , Fiona wasn’t feeling all that hopeful anymore. 

Lightning rose a brow as he watched the fox abruptly stand and storm off. It amazed him that, after all she’d done in loyalty to Scourge, the hedgehog didn’t even seem to think _twice_ about looking at other women. Though he wasn’t about to say it out loud, the lynx admired the way she did whatever it took to get back to her boyfriend. It reminded him much of all of the things he’d done in his own homeland before he was kicked out for his failures. 

“Forgive my intrusion on the subject,” Lightning began, trying to tread lightly on the situation. “I know that you are upset with her for bringing us to the wrong zone, but why not show her a little bit of kindness for her faithfulness to you? Wasn’t it _you_ who told me that I deserved more for my services to my homeland?”

“Eh, _she’ll get over it_ ,” Scourge waved it off. “She always does. Next thing you know, she’ll be crawlin’ back begging for more.”

It was more of a game for the hedgehog. How far could he push before she finally broke? How much would be _too_ much? Nothing made Fiona leave his side for very long. Her anger always fizzled out and the next thing he knew she was right back on his arm where she-- _foolishly_ \--thought she belonged. 

“There had better be some loose chicks in here. I’m gonna _burst_ if I have to wait any longer,” the hedgehog muttered. 

“ _That’s_ why we’re in here?” Lightning gaped. “I thought you said you needed to _de-stress_.”

“ _I do_ ,” Scourge laughed. “What did you _think_ I meant?”

The lynx motioned towards Fiona as she made her way towards the bathroom only for Scourge to give a snort of laughter and wave it off. 

“You think after I’ve been stuck in prison for as long as I have that I just want _one_?” he scoffed. “Come on, man, I’m not gonna settle down after being this pent up. Ya go _nuts_ after a while! You know how fuckin’ hard it is to pretend some dude’s plumber’s crack is cleavage when he’s ripping rancid gas?”

What was _wrong_ with this guy?! Lightning outright cringed at the imagery placed in his mind, trying his best to think about something, _anything_ else! Scourge was a loose canon in more ways than one.

Fiona reached to rub at one of her eyes as she entered the bathroom, shoving a rabbit out of the way so that she could barrel into one of the stalls. Clover stumbled, but rather than being angry about it she ducked out of the room faster. For all she knew, the fox had too much to drink and was about to empty her guts into the porcelain throne. 

Rouge and Wave seemed to be bickering about something at the table as Clover made her way over to the bar. That at least bought her a few more minutes to try and get herself prepared. Man, she _really_ didn’t want to do this. Sidling up beside a green hedgehog, she waved down the bartender. 

“Three shots of cinnamon whiskey, please,” she ordered. 

_She was gonna need it._

Scourge paused, glancing to the rabbit beside him. Overall she was alright to look at. She wasn’t exactly his type, but _a hole was a hole_ after all. He’d had good experience with rabbits in the past, if _Buns_ was anything to go by. 

“ _Woah there_ , sweetheart,” he purred out as he turned to face her. “Three’s an _awful lot_ to be takin’ at once, isn’t it?”

Not that he was complaining. The faster she got her liquor in her, the faster he could get her out of there. Fiona throwing a hissy fit on him while he was trying to get laid wasn’t on his agenda for the night. 

Clover looked him right in the eye as she took her first shot, only to cringe and cough into her arm immediately afterward. It burned all the way down, making her suddenly question her choice in alcohol immediately before going on stage.

“ _I can handle myself_ ,” she wheezed.

And down went the second shot with pretty much the same reaction. The face she was making alone was enough to get Scourge to laugh obnoxiously. Whiskey wasn’t usually his go-to, but there was no way it was as strong as she was making it out to be.

“Oh come on, it can’t be _that_ bad!”

“Alright, _you_ try it then,” the rabbit said, smirking as she slid the third shot towards the stranger. 

“ _Don’t mind if I do~_ ”

Lightning rolled his eyes as Scourge picked up the shot. The hedgehog threw it back with ease, and it wasn’t until after he swallowed that it _really_ hit him. HIs previously smug grin was almost immediately overcome by what was colloquially known as “[whiskey face](https://youtu.be/tAXQNx4E7so?t=21)”--it was like a grimace, but substantially worse. 

Alright, so maybe this was a bit more amusing than the lynx assumed it would be. 

Cinnamon was all Scourge could smell as it burned its way through his nasal passages. Had he not known better, the hedgehog could’ve _sworn_ he’d chugged liquid fire, and it was all he could do to keep himself quiet as he rode out the sensation, instead bashing a fist down onto the bartop. A moment passed before he let out a choked-sounding belch.

“Yeah... It’s _great_ ,” he wheezed out. “ _Totally rad_.”

Normal whiskey was easy. It was a quick burn and then it was gone. While this drink left a sweet aftertaste on his tongue, the cinnamon burned like heck and _he could feel it in his ears_. With an overdramatic grunt and shake of his head, he finally pulled himself back up to look at the rabbit. Clover had a hand over her mouth, failing miserably at holding back her laughter.

Yeah it _burned_. Yeah it was probably a _mistake_ before _singing_. But was this moment worth it? _Absolutely_! She reached to pat him on the shoulder as she slid off of the barstool.

“ _You owe me one now_ ,” Clover noted. “You drank the last one, it’s only fair. I’ll be right back.”

If anything, she could consider the last shot her reward for going through with Rouge’s silly antics. It would be her one last drink before they would head home. Who knew, maybe she could pull her friends over and have a chat with the hedgehog and his friend. Little did she know, his intentions were less than savory. 

“Are you really going to--” Lightning started, only to have Scourge punch his arm. 

“ _Shuddup_ , would ya?” the hedgehog grumbled. “It’ll take me like 20 minutes if I hurry. Fiona’s taken longer shits than that.”

“I do _not_ need to know the bathroom habits of your girlfriend,” Lightning groaned from behind his own palm. 

The comment earned a snicker from the green menace. He hailed down the bartender, asking her for something far stronger than whiskey. He was going to need it to deal with Fiona’s screeching if he happened to get caught. 

Clover fiddled with the microphone in front of her while she waited for the waitress to select the song she’d requested. She could see Rouge and Wave at their table egging her on. What really got her leg jittering in nervousness was the fact that the bat pulled out her phone and seemed to be filming. 

“You’re doing _great_ , sweetie,” Rouge said, too low for Clover to hear but loud enough to make the swallow beside her roll her eyes. 

The whiskey churned in her stomach, suddenly making the rabbit regret her drink choice. The fear of being sick was the only thing that had her trying to sing as the speakers came to life beside her. Rather than choosing a song that was cute or anything Rouge had been suggesting earlier in the night, Clover’s choice was something much darker in tone. 

Her voice cracked whenever she reached a note she couldn’t hit, and rather than trying to dance normally she began to move her body in a way that almost looked as though she was _broken_. Anyone who’d never seen the singer whom the song belonged to wouldn’t realize that she was simply imitating his act. As far as she was concerned, it was better than standing still and looking awkward. 

Now she just looked like a _zombie_. 

“[ _Done my time and served my sentence~_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbDyv9uni50)”

The lyrics had Scourge’s ears perking up. While parts of her voice had him cringing, the _song_ was worth taking note of. While the lynx beside him was covering his ears in disdain, the hedgehog was actively listening in.

“ _If it_ ** _feels_** _good,_ ** _tastes_** _good, It_ ** _must_** _be_ ** _mine_** _\--_ ”

“You _can’t_ be into this,” Lightning grumbled. “She looks like a skeleton trying to walk around without anything holding her up.”

“That’s probably the _point_ , bud,” Scourge laughed as he turned to watch her. 

“-- _I'm taking back the crooown--_ ”

“Well _fuck_ ,” he laughed, setting his drink down.

“-- _I see what's_ ** _mine_** _and_ ** _take_** _it--_ ”

“I didn’t know I had a _theme song!_ ” 

Scourge stood from his stool, flashing the lynx a grin. 

“Guess I’d better go _learn it._ ”

The song’s lyrics fit him to an absolute _T_. As much as Lightning wanted to hold his leader back, the feline stayed where he was. If Scourge _really_ wanted to do something, _he’d do it_. No one else had a say in it. The more he (unwillingly) listened to the song, the more he realized that it _did_ fit the hedgehog.

“What are you gonna do with this video?” Wave asked, looking over Rouge’s shoulder. 

“I’m gonna send it to _Shadow_ , of course,” the bat replied as she tried to zoom in on Clover’s strange movements. “It’s weird enough that he’d probably _like_ it.”

Without hesitation, Scourge hoisted himself up onto the tiny stage beside the rabbit, actively trying to match whatever weird dance she was doing. It was enough to pull him closer to her, sliding his hand over her’s on the microphone so that he could get close enough to both sing and squint at the tiny screen that held the lyrics. 

“Who the heck is _that_?” the swallow asked.

Rouge’s smile instantly evaporated. 

_Oh_ she knew very well who _that_ was. 

As Scourge leaned in enough to nudge his forehead against Clover’s while they sang, the bat’s hands began to shake. The rabbit obviously had no idea what she was getting herself into. In her mind, having someone on stage with her was far less intimidating than being alone. Sure he was getting a little too close for comfort, but it wasn’t like he was pulling any funny moves yet. 

Clover pulled her head back, not wanting to be that close. That single movement was enough to save her from the fury of the _chair_ that flew straight into Scourge’s face. The microphone dropped to the ground as the rabbit jumped back, completely stumbling off of the stage. There stood Rouge, trembling with rage, arm still extended from the throw. To say the look in her eyes was _murderous_ would be a terrible understatement.

The ruffians in the bar took this as their sign to all-out brawl with each other. In a matter of seconds, things around them devolved into chaos and drunken rage. Clover felt herself pulled up by her friends and all but hoisted out of the bar. Rouge didn’t realize that in the fray, her message to Shadow had been sent. Nothing mattered more in that moment than getting out of there. 

If Scourge was around, there was nothing but trouble ahead. 

The hedgehog groaned as he sat up. The impact had sent him careening into the jukebox, switching the song to something with a [much faster, if a bit dated, beat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCCQu5ozxuM). He was dazed for only a moment before he realized that there was a brawl going on and, with a wild whoop, he launched himself off stage, aiming a missile kick to the closest head. The only one who didn’t seem to be into the fight was the poor Lynx still sitting on his bar stool and rubbing his temples. 

Naturally it was _then_ that Fiona decided to re-join them, and _boy did she regret it_. It amazed her how quickly things had escalated into one huge mess. She glanced to Lightning and motioned to the brawl with an inquisitive look, to which the feline simply shrugged and sipped at his glass of water. The mongoose bartender behind him had seen this type of thing so many times that she’d become all too accustomed to it and merely stood there rubbing glasses dry, ocassionally ducking when debris flew in her general direction. 

With a toothy grin plastered across his face, Scourge made his way back over to the bar. He was _far_ from done with the fight and wanted to wet his whistle before jumping back into the fray. 

“Scourge, we should _go_ ,” Fiona urged. 

“I concur,” the Lynx beside her agreed. “We wouldn’t want the authorities to catch on to our location this early in the game.”

“You two go ahead,” Scourge scoffed. “I’m gonna _stay_ for a while.”

“But babe, we--”

“ _Fiona_.” 

There was that look again. It made the fox feel sick. With a hesitant nod, she motioned for Lightning to join her. As they made their way out of the “ _fine establishmen_ t,” the lynx was left wondering what kind of leader they now found themselves under. Was this really the hedgehog Fiona had promised to them?

Scourge felt so much more free as soon as they were away from him. Already he was sizing up the bartender. Just because one prospect got away didn’t mean his night was completely wrecked. 

“So, babe,” he purred over his glass. “What time do you get off your shift?”

The mongoose smiled. Sure he looked like a hooligan, but he was also quite handsome. 

“In an hour,” she replied. 

“You sure you don’t have some ‘ _heavy lifting_ ’ I can help you with in the back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art done by LonelySadBlob on tumblr. You can find them here: https://lonelysadblob.tumblr.com/


	3. Don't Go Out Tonight

The video that popped up onto Shadow’s communicator was enough of a surprise on its own. Despite the fact that he’d been about to turn in for the night, he rolled onto his side to watch it. A fond smile tugged at his lips as he watched the rabbit do…  _ whatever she was doing _ . It was the sudden appearance of the green hedgehog beside her that sent off alarm bells louder than any of the intruder alerts he’d ever heard. 

The darker hedgehog was quick to get up, flying right out the door as he watched the video shake and a chair fly seemingly out of nowhere. Seeing Scourge knocked flat on his rear was satisfying, at the very least. Rouge’s finger appeared in the shot as the video shook violently. There was a flash of Clover’s fur and pink hair before there was more shaking and the feed cut out completely. 

“Rouge,” Shadow called out, trying to hail her over the com system. “Where are you? Do you copy? Rouge!”

There was silence for a long moment before the bat responded.

“I’m here, Shadow,” she gasped out, hunched over from all of their running. 

While she was very used to a lot of physical activity, she wasn’t used to  _ carrying  _ another Mobian along with her. With a loud huff, the bat leaned against the nearest wall. 

“Are you both safe?” the hedgehog called out. “ _ Where _ are you? I’ll head to your location.”

As confident as he was in both of their abilities, Scourge was nothing to scoff at. Shadow had experienced his powers first-hand on multiple occasions. 

“The  _ three  _ of us are fine,” Wave sneered out. “We’re next to a drug-store on the corner of Rosewood and Main.  _ Geeze _ , what’s the  _ big deal _ ?”

It wasn’t the nicest area, but it was far enough away from the bar and the hedgehog in question that Rouge finally felt comfortable stopping. The swallow on the other hand had no idea who Scourge was or why they were running from him. From her point of view, he was just another bar-hopper looking to get his rocks off. No more, no less. 

“I’ll be there in five minutes.”

With that, Shadow’s communications were shut off. Wave rolled her eyes. She looked to Clover and was fully prepared to make a comment about how the rabbit wasn’t speaking, but stopped when she saw the look on her friend’s face. Clover was half-bent over, eyes narrowed, and breathing hard though she hadn’t actually been running. The way she was holding the front of her shirt had Wave have a sneaking suspicion that she was about to--

“Hey guys!” Sonic called, much to Amy’s unhappiness. 

The pink hedgehog had easily suckered Sonic out with the promise of chili dogs only to spring a surprise date on him. To think, the blue blur had assumed that she’d dropped her crush on him long ago.  _ Apparently he was mistaken. _ Seeing the three familiar faces out and about gave him the  _ exact  _ opportunity he needed to try and squirm his way out of said date. Despite Amy’s whining, Sonic cheerfully made his way over to the girls. 

“Long time no--”

He was interrupted by the sound of retching as Clover turned away, bent over, and immediately lost the contents of her stomach against the wall. Rouge was quick to hop-step away before any of it could hit her boots, and even Wave took a step backward. Only Sonic seemed unphased by it. He’d grown up semi-raising Tails, after all. The hedgehog was half brother, half dad.

“You okay, hon?” Rouge asked, only to receive a thumbs-up from the sick rabbit as she continued her actions.

Sonic stepped forward to try and help her pull her long bangs out of her face; gently patting and rubbing her back to try and soothe her. The motion alone was enough to get Amy’s quills flaring. With a huff, the pink hedgehog folded her arms and pouted. Who the heck did this girl think she was, stealing Sonic’s attention away from her?!

“What happened?” Sonic asked.

“I took... two shots of whiskey…” Clover panted out. “ _ And then they  _ **_shook_ ** _ me. _ ”

The speedster glanced up a Rouge, raising a brow in question. While he himself wasn’t really a drinker, he’d seen the effects the strange liquid could have on others. If there was one thing he knew about it, it was that intense motion after drinking  _ really  _ wasn’t the best idea. The bat was quick to raise up her arms in defense of herself. 

“I’m gonna go inside and buy myself a toothbrush,” Clover said, giving a hiccup and a groan of discomfort. “Or at the very least some  _ mints _ .”

“I gotcha.”

The hero took her arm, helping lead her into the drugstore. While Clover looked relatively fine, he wanted to make sure she wasn’t about to walk inside and continue what she’d started against the wall. Again, Amy gave a loud noise of displeasure. 

“Care to explain?” she asked unhappily.

“Look, we didn’t have a  _ choice _ ,” Rouge said quickly. “ _ Scourge _ showed up.”

That was enough to put  _ all  _ of the pink hedgehog’s jealousy aside. She could worry about another date with Sonic later. Right now the most important thing was figuring out what their next steps were. It was interesting to see Amy think. Wave could have sworn she could see the wheels in the other girl’s head turning as the hedgehog rubbed her chin with her finger. 

“ _ Rouge _ !”

Shadow’s voice booming so close to her had the Bat jumping out of her skin. It took an interesting little dance-step to keep herself from stepping right in Clover’s mess, turning on her heels and stumbling a step or two off to the side. 

“Shadow,  _ please  _ don’t sneak up on me like that,” the bat gasped, placing a hand on her own chest. “I don’t think I can handle it.”

Her words were ignored as the darker hedgehog looked over the group. There were three of them there as Wave had said, and they all looked unharmed,  _ but why was Amy there _ ?

“Where is she?” Shadow asked, his mind immediately jumping to the worst possible scenarios. “Did Scourge--”

“ _ She’s fine _ ,” Wave sighed out, rubbing her temples. “Clover’s inside with Sonic. Now will  _ somebody  _ explain to me why we’re all freaking out over this guy?!”

“ _ Fine _ ,” Shadow huffed. “Scourge is Sonic’s evil double from another dimension that gained the power of the Master Emerald, turned green, is insanely strong, and can go Super on top of that.”

“Let’s not forget the fact that he’s dating Sonic’s ex-girlfriend,” Rouge continued. “He’s a manipulative, womanizing, foul-mouthed, power-hungry,  _ horrible _ egoist.  _ He also happens to be my ex. _ ”

“Did we about cover it?” the dark hedgehog asked. 

The poor swallow was left with her mouth gaping and eyes wide: a look that Rouge compared more and more to a fish the longer she looked at it. 

“You’ve…. You've  _ got  _ to be pulling my leg,” Wave said with a laugh. “This is all a group prank, right? You’re mad at me for earlier and you got all of your little friends together to pull the wool over my eyes.  _ Right _ ?”

“Honey… I  _ wish  _ this was a joke,” Rouge replied. 

“I thought Scourge was incarcerated,” Shadow pointed out. “There’s  _ no way _ he would have been set free.”

“If only there was a way to knock him down and make him  _ stay _ down,” the bat sighed in response.

“I might… have an idea,” Amy spoke up softly. 

All eyes turned to her as she pulled out her phone to make a call. A set of blue and pink star charms dangled from the pastel colored device. It wasn’t her normal communicator, but it worked well enough when she wasn’t in the middle of a battle. 

“Hey Tails,  _ do you still have that star-post? _ ”


	4. Bound To Take Your Life

Fiona chewed on her own finger as she waited anxiously for her boyfriend to return from his escapades. The base was set up, their research had been done, and there was even a mission at hand for them to complete. There was just one  _ minor  _ problem:  _ their fearless leader still hadn’t returned from the bar.  _

The way Flying Frog bounced across the room was only making the fox more uneasy with each passing second. The murmurs between Simian and Hawk should have been calming, but the sounds felt overstimulating to her ears. A sudden touch to her shoulder made her jump, swatting at it harder than she realized. 

“Be calm, it’s just me,” Lightning whispered as he caught her swat. 

The ninja’s reflexes never ceased to amaze her. Fiona caught herself wondering how the lynx’s strong ears managed to completely zone out the frog’s insane ramblings when he was just across the room. 

“Sorry,” she whispered back. “I’m just… a bit on  _ edge _ .”

“Don’t apologize,” the lynx chuckled. “I  _ like  _ your spirit.”

For the first time in hours, Fiona felt herself smiling. It was small and hesitant, but it was there nonetheless. After a moment of thought, she slid over on the top of the box she’d found herself on and patted the area next to her. Lightning’s brows rose in surprise at the invitation. After his own moment of contemplation, he sat himself down beside the pretty fox.

“Would you… like to talk about it?” he asked.

Out of the entire group, Lightning had been the one to willingly go to group counseling sessions back in the Zone prison. He was the only one who knew how much anger was inside of him that needed to be channeled into something more productive, despite the situation he now found himself in. There was simply something that just  _ didn’t feel right _ . Somehow he got the feeling Fiona felt the same way.

“Really?” Fiona laughed out. “You want me to talk about my _ womanly emotions _ ?”

His resolve didn’t falter. That detail alone was enough to make Fiona stop laughing. The fox wasn’t used to anyone paying attention to her needs. Usually the attention revolved around  _ Scourge _ . Everything in life was  _ all about Scourge _ . Fiona’s feelings took a backseat to every single grand scheme, master plan, or whim of the selfish hedgehog. No matter what, she could be tossed aside at a moment’s notice, and yet she always came crawling back for some reason.

“I just…” she started, suddenly feeling far too exposed and vulnerable. “Feel like  _ nothing  _ I ever do is  _ enough _ .”

That alone managed to light a spark of familiarity in the lynx’s eyes. 

“That’s a feeling I know all too well,” Lightning admitted. 

“There’s no way you could understand how I--”

“You give him everything you’ve got, don’t you?” the lynx interrupted, throwing Fiona for a loop. “You fight, you grow stronger, you grow  _ smarter _ , and yet it never really matters. The instant you fail, if only  _ once _ , you’re thrown out on your rear with  _ nothing  _ to show for it. All you can do is  _ beg  _ to be let in, only for the cycle to repeat itself  _ over and over again. _ ”

From the look in her wide eyes, Lightning could tell that he absolutely nailed how she felt. The revelation that anyone could get her feelings down so easily into words disturbed the fox. Her pain was supposed to be hers alone, and it was supposed to be something she could shove down forever more and never feel again. Yet here she was, feeling as though her chest were on fire and her eyes stinging with tears that threatened to fall.

“How do you…?”

“Easy,  _ I’ve been there _ ,” Lightning admitted, reaching to run a hand through his own hair. “I’ve felt the ups and downs, the failure, the  _ agony  _ of being thrown away… Even the joy of being thought of as useful before it all came crashing down around me yet again. I know where you’ve  _ been _ , and I know where you  _ are _ .”

Fiona was floored. How could a guy like  _ Lightning  _ have been thrown away so easily? He was strong, cunning, quick, and had so many useful skills. Sure he had eyebrows for  _ days _ , but he wasn’t  _ unattractive _ . In the short time the fox had known him, he’d proven time and time again to be  _ incredibly  _ useful. 

“How did you get over it?” she found herself asking despite her better judgement. 

“ _ I didn’t, _ ” Lightning admitted with a laugh. “Look at me, I’m chasing after the same thing all over again. Minus the  _ love _ , anyway. I’m still seeking to be useful, and I’m still  _ not enough _ .”

“ _ Why _ are you telling me all this?” Fiona huffed out. 

Perhaps if she put up the wall  _ now _ , she could block him out. Maybe the fox could catch Lightning slipping up, or find some sort of ulterior motive. There was  _ no way _ he just wanted to help her. There was  _ no way _ he was showing her  _ kindness _ !

“I guess it’s because I don’t want you to end up like  _ me _ ,” Lightning finally admitted. “I don’t want you to wind up alone, hurting, and bitter.  _ There’s so much fire in you, Fiona _ . I don’t think I could bear to see that  _ extinguished _ .”

Again Lightning’s words pierced into her, and despite her will to remain strong, the wall around her heart was beginning to crumble. What were these emotions radiating off of him? Confidence in her skills? Admiration?  _ Respect _ ? It all felt so unfamiliar and frightening, and yet she felt so  _ warm  _ inside. 

Before the fox could stop herself, she found her fingers sliding along the box to lace with Lightning’s own, if only for a moment. The lynx felt as though his cheeks were  _ on fire _ with that simple motion and, try as he might to avert his gaze, he found he couldn’t. 

“ _ Thanks _ ,” Fiona said, her voice barely above a whisper. 

Lightning’s large ears twitched, easily catching her voice in the loud room. Swallowing the lump in his throat took more effort than he’d hoped and by the time the lynx got up enough courage to speak, he was rudely interrupted by the sound of the door being kicked in just beside him. 

“Boom, bitches! I’m  _ back _ !” Scourge shouted as he kicked the door closed once more. 

The hedgehog was a  _ mess _ . Even from where she sat, Fiona could smell the  _ booze, perfume, and sex  _ on him. There were lipstick stains on his neck, and hickeys so dark that she could see them through his fur. Her anger boiled over as she stood. Had something been near enough to her, she would have thrown it at him. 

“Where the hell were you?!” the fox shouted. “We’ve been waiting for  _ hours _ !”

“Eh, calm your tits. I was just havin’ a little  _ fun _ ,” the hedgehog scoffed as he pushed past her. “So boys, where’re we at?”

And just like that, she was brushed off. Fiona could hardly believe it. Scourge didn’t bother hiding the fact that he’d just slept with someone else, nor did he seem to care about her feelings in the slightest. Lightning was right, wasn’t he? Her hands shook as they balled into fists. 

The softest of touches against her back pulled her back to reality as the lynx appeared beside her. Fiona wanted so badly to seek comfort in Lightning’s arms. He seemed like the only Mobian in any dimension that might understand her. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time. She had to be content with that simple touch and the feeling of her tail looping behind his legs. 

What the others were saying didn’t matter to her. Not anymore. After everything the fox had done, it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. There was no point in trying to stick around anymore. It only bothered Fiona that it took her this long to see. Perhaps she’d just been so afraid of being alone again that she clung to whatever comfort she could get. Scourge filled the void for a while, but the longer she stayed with him, the longer she felt herself falling deeper and deeper back into that hole in her heart. 

Fiona felt trapped and suffocated, much like she had when she was stuck in Eggman’s dungeon all those years ago. As she looked to Lightning, she finally felt a small glimmer of hope. Maybe there was a chance at a life that was more than just being under Scourge’s thumb. Maybe there was--

“--The Anarchy Beryls?!” Scourge’s voice broke through her thoughts like the sound of shattering glass. 

Fiona found herself heading for the group quickly, dragging the lynx along with her. 

“Wait, what’d I miss?” she asked. 

“There’s fuckin’  _ Anarchy Beryls _ here, babe!” the hedgehog grinned, wrapping an arm around her and not seeming to realize just how uncomfortable the motion made her. “ _ This _ is why we wound up here. I can get ahold of those little shits and get us all back to the top!”

It was exactly what he needed to get the edge on Sonic and his little band of merry-makers. Sergeant Simian slid a news article towards the fox.

“Apparently a few years ago, there was a scheme from this world’s Eggman that involved something called a Phantom Ruby,” the gorilla explained. “It not only messed with the fabric of reality, but apparently also opened and closed multiple dimensional portals. They don’t seem to fully recognize what these gems are, but it seems they’d fallen through one of the portals and now are being researched by a group of scientists spread throughout the area.”

“That’s intense,” she laughed out as she looked over the paper. “It’s too bad we missed  _ that  _ whole fiasco.  _ Sounds like fun _ .”

“Alright, gang,” Scourge said as he hoisted himself up onto the table. “Here’s the plan. We split up in groups of two and get each of those Beryls as fast as we can. Sonic’s little group are weaklings compared to us, but they’re still pretty fuckin’ strong. I get a hold of those things and I can wipe that sucker out in two seconds flat. Once Sonic’s gone, his whole gang usually falls apart.”

“You’re right about that,” Predator Hawk replied as he slid another article across the table. “During the ‘ _ Infinite Incident _ ,’ Sonic  _ was  _ apparently taken out for a time. It took them  _ six months  _ to get their lives back in working order enough to find him, free him, and go to proper war.”

“Now  _ that’s  _ what I’m talkin’ about,” Scourge growled in excitement. “Alright Destructix,  _ roll out _ !”

Before Scourge could give them their pairs, Fiona linked her arm with Lightning and headed for the door. The lynx showed no hesitation in following her, even going so far as to give the others a wave.

“Bet we’ll get them faster than you all will,” he called out. 

Scourge rose a brow, but was more than willing to take on the challenge. 

“A race, huh? Predator, you’re with me! Sarg and Flyin’, you’re together. _ Let’s do it to it! _ ”

If it was a race Lightning wanted, it was a race Lightning would get!


	5. Earthquakes and Lightnin'

“You think Amy’s idea will really work?” 

It wasn’t that Clover distrusted Amy. Sure the pink hedgehog came off a little cold, but she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. If she was one of Sonic’s friends, then the rabbit supposed she had no reason to doubt the other girl. It was  _ Scourge  _ that she knew next to nothing about. Sure Shadow tried to explain things, but everything just felt so convoluted and strange. 

Rather than looking to Shadow for her answer, Clover focused entirely on the burger in front of her. The smell of the meat was making her mouth water, and as she bit down she could taste all of its delectable juices. The heaviness of the meal helped to settle her stomach after the rough treatment it received earlier in the evening. 

“She’s a bit odd, but Amy’s grown well over the years,” Shadow admitted. “I think it might work, with Tails assisting her.”

The pink hedgehog had come a long way from the Sonic-obsessed girl she’d been years ago. Speaking of said pink hedgehog, Amy glanced from Clover, to what she was eating, to Tails as he worked on the machine before him. 

“Do… Do rabbits  _ eat meat _ ?” she asked in confusion. “Every rabbit I’ve ever met was a  _ vegetarian _ . I thought meat hurt their stomachs.”

“ _ It’s kind of a long story _ ,” Tails admitted. 

“Well, we’ve got time,” Amy sighed as she leaned against the fox’s work desk. 

“No, we don’t,” Rouge interrupted. 

The bat stood quickly from her seat on the Tails’s workbench, turning around the tablet in her hands. 

“It looks like Scourge and his gang are already on the move. They’re breaking into research facilities and stealing some of the gems they discovered after the battle with Infinite.”

Sonic was the first one to Rouge’s side, taking the tablet to look it over. After some scrolling, he managed to find a photo of one of the gems in question.

“No way… That looks like an--”

“Anarchy Beryl,” the bat agreed with a nod. “I never thought we’d see it here, but it looks like that dimensional warping messed up a whole lot more than we thought it did.”

“Man, I  _ really  _ wish I would have found out about this stuff sooner,” Sonic admitted. “I was so worried about cleaning-up and keeping Eggman from building too many more robots that I completely missed these articles.”

“Honestly, even _ I  _ missed them,” the bat said with a sheepish smile. “It doesn’t look like they were originally released anywhere but the towns that found them. Someone else leaked these reports online not too long ago. All of this was kept really hush-hush until these guys started stealing things.”

“We’ve gotta hurry and get this taken care of before he gets a hold of enough to go Super,” Shadow huffed as he stood. “You managed to trick him last time, Sonic, but he probably won't fall for you lasting him out again.”

“You’re right.”

The blue blur thought for a moment, rubbing under his nose. He gave a sudden snap as a thought hit him, and Sonic turned on his heels to face Rouge. 

“I’ve got it! Wave, you up for a little mission?”

“Depends on what it is,” said the swallow.

“I need you to call Jet and Storm, and I need the three of you to snag me the Chaos Emeralds,” Sonic explained. 

Shadow perked up at that, giving a nod of agreement. 

“I get it. If Scourge goes super, you and I can match him as best as we can with the power of the Chaos Emeralds.”

Sonic nodded enthusiastically. 

“Exactly! Tails, buddy, how long you think you need before you can get this thing up and running?” 

“I dunno. Maybe an hour,” the fox admitted. “It’ll be tough without time to test it, but we don’t have much of a choice.”

“How are we gonna lure him in, though?” Amy asked. 

“Oh, I think I’ve got an idea,” Clover piped up as she stood. 

Her gaze wandered to Rouge, and as the others caught on the bat felt the entire group’s eyes on her. 

“Oh no! _ I don’t think so _ ,” she laughed, waving them off. 

“He’s your ex, right?” the rabbit pointed out. “And you said he was a womanizing scuzzbucket. So why not? You just flutter your eyelashes at him, wiggle yourself around a little, and he’ll be putty in your hands.”

“I  _ really  _ don’t think this is a good idea,” Rouge pleaded. 

“She  _ does  _ have a point,” Amy admitted, reaching to place her hand on Rouge’s shoulder. “I  _ know  _ it’s uncomfortable for you, but you’re the only one he might let his guard down for. All we need is a couple of minutes and the machine should do the rest.”

Slouching forward, the bat conceded her defeat. If she was really their best option, then Rouge supposed she had no choice in the matter. It was either: be uncomfortable for a few minutes, or miss out on the chance to catch the guy that was about to devastate their entire world.

“ _ Fine _ , I’ll do it.”

\---

Building the mechanism was easy. Hauling it all the way out into the city when Scourge’s reign of terror began was  _ much  _ harder. Explosions rang out through the air and the sounds of destruction filled their ears as they tried to hurry. 

“Oh Sonic~” the green menace sang out. “Come out and play-aaay~!”

Flying Frog laughed with gleeful malice as he hopped around with the intent on “playing” with every single victim he could get his hands on. Predator Hawk meanwhile was keeping his eyes out for the group of heros from high up on top of one of the nearby buildings. Scourge took one of the explosives from Sergeant Simian and tossed it haphazardly at the nearest building. 

He didn’t really care what he was blowing up. All the hedgehog wanted was to get Sonic’s attention. The faster they took out the blue blur, the faster he could take over this sad excuse of a dimension. 

With a sigh of annoyance, Fiona followed along. In the past, she would have loved to sit back and watch Scourge wreak havoc. For some reason now, all of his antics just rubbed her the wrong way. It felt like he was being  _ far too careless _ . 

Lightning stood above them, jumping from light pole to light pole. His ears flicked to and fro, listening in on what was going on around them. It amazed Fiona that he always seemed to be able to listen past the louder noises, like the pointless explosions Scourge and Simian were causing, and could zone in on the more important things. The softest of smiles fell across her lips as she gazed up at him. What could she say? His skills were impressive!

“Predator!” the lynx called. “Eyes to the East! I can hear them headed our way!”

With a nod in response, the bird of prey turned his attention eastbound. A flash of blue was all he needed to confirm that Lightning had been correct. 

“Boss! Blue hedgehog, three-o-clock!” the blue hawk squawked out. 

Predator jumped off of the roof, swooping down with his talloned-gloves at the ready. As per usual, Sonic was far too fast! With one heck of a spin-dash, his body collided with Scourge’s to send the two of them flying through the glass of a building and onto a table. The furniture piece collapsed beneath them as the green hedgehog let out a loud laugh. 

“What  _ took  _ you so long,  _ loser _ ? You kept me  _ waiting _ ~”

“Aww, I’m sorry Scourge. Didja miss me  _ that  _ badly?”

“As a matter of fact--” Scourge grunted loudly as he kicked Sonic’s body off of his own. “--I did!”

Pulling himself up, he rolled his shoulders. His sharp, pearly-whites showed themselves in quite the wicked grin as the menace charged forward. 

“Or should I say, I missed  _ hurting  _ you!”

Their battle was all but a blue and green blur to the rest of the watching party, though the Destructix didn’t get to watch for long. In his effort to once again lunge at Sonic, Predator Hawk soon found a Piko Hammer colliding directly with his skull. 

Amy gave a joyful little jump, grinning from ear to ear. Hitting an opponent from so far away always felt like a huge accomplishment whenever she managed it. Her celebration sadly did not last for very long, as a certain manic amphibian pounced her, tugging at her dress and laughing like a lunatic as she screamed and fought to get him off. 

A familiar black blur whizzed past her, turning to slam into the frog and sent him flying right against the broken glass that the other two hedgehogs had formerly burst through. 

“Thanks, Shadow,” Amy shouted, making a mad dash for her hammer. 

“Don’t mention it.  _ Just go! _ ” 

With her grin back in place, Amy set her sights on the groggy hawk, dead set on knocking him right out of the battle. The darker hedgehog zoned in on the amphibian before him. Despite his very heavily bleeding injury, the frog’s creepy smile stayed in place. 

“Oh, are  _ you  _ going to play with me~?” he sang out as his head tilted unnaturally far.

The last thing he was expecting was for a rabbit to jump right onto his back, locking her legs around his waist.

“You wanna play, huh? _ I’ll bite! _ ”

While her teeth weren’t normally sharp enough to properly bite through skin, they were surely strong enough to latch onto an open wound. With a loud growl, Clover chomped down on the frog’s shoulder, sucking hard on the slice in his skin. Flying Frog let out a yowl, trying to reach back to punch her or claw her off of him. When his efforts had no effect, he tried slamming his back against the nearest wall to knock her off. 

The more she sucked, the less energy he seemed to have. Shadow was left watching, giving a gulp as he reached to rub his own shoulder in longing. Memories of letting Clover feed from him in the past rushed into his mind, sending a shiver of anticipation through him. 

“Well  _ damn _ ,” he chuckled, watching the Frog almost melt to the ground. “Feeling a little  _ thirsty _ ?”

With a gasp and a soft pop sound, Clover pulled her mouth away from the frog’s shoulder, reaching to wipe away the blood left behind on her chin. The amphibian was far paler than he should have been. She’d left him alive, but barely. 

“ _ Not anymore _ ,” the rabbit purred out. 

A smirk played out across Shadow’s lips. It was always fun to see a Mobian that normally would have been considered “weak” or “harmless” being so  _ deadly _ . Sadly his focus was broken when a grenade hit the ground beside them and rolled to a stop not too far away. Panic filled the rabbit’s eyes and, sprouting her energy wings, she grasped Shadow’s hands to pull him up into the air just as the explosion ignited. 

The mere sound had her ears ringing, and the impact was enough to send them hurtling through the air and onto the ground. 

“Stop flirting and focus on the challenge at hand!” Sergeant Simian called out above the chaos. 

Shadow pulled himself up with a laugh, narrowing his eyes at the larger Mobian. 

“I will  _ when there’s a challenge _ .”

Clover shook her head as she stood, reaching to tap one of her ears. The ringing was amazingly loud, but she could still hear at the very least. Once the dark hedgehog was sure she was okay, he all but threw himself into battle. 

“They’re picking us off one by one,” Lightning muttered as he positioned himself in front of Fiona. 

They’d already lost Predator Hawk and Flying Frog. Despite his best efforts, the Sergeant was going down and fast. 

“Scourge, stop screwing around!” Fiona shouted. 

Wasn’t he supposed to have used the Anarchy Beryl the moment he’d seen Sonic? As per usual, the green hedgehog was trying to assert his dominance and seemed to be stubborn about letting the battle end too soon. Unfortunately that meant he’d already lost most of his forces. 

Lightning zoned in on the two-tailed fox and bat pulling a cloth off of what looked like… a star post? What in the world were they planning on doing with that thing?

“Let’s face the facts,” Lightning said quickly. “They have a plan and we don’t. If he doesn’t hurry up, we’ll be faced with no choice but to make a tactical retreat.”

Giving up wasn’t in Lightning’s nature, but the facts were facts. They were outnumbered and hadn’t been properly briefed on what kind of team they’d been going up against. Sonic and his friends in the Prime Zone seemed to be  _ younger  _ and _ less experienced  _ than the group they were currently facing. Had they known ahead of time just how different this world was, they might have been able to properly prepare. However Scourge’s impatience seemed to have led them down the path to failure. 

“ _ SCOURGE _ !” Fiona screamed out again.

“Yeah, yeah! Calm your tits, would ya?” the hedgehog finally called back. 

Scourge skid to a stop, reaching into his jacket to pull out the gems awaiting him. Sure he could just power himself up without showing them to Sonic, but what fun would that be? The blue hedgehog’s eyes widened, and as he lunged forward to try and take them away from Scourge, the green menage activated their power. 

His obnoxious laughter was enough to pull Rouge’s attention away from the machine as Tails hurried to activate it. 

“How the heck am I supposed to get his attention  _ now _ ?”

Clover paused in rubbing her still sore ears, looking around for some sort of answer. Thankfully it came to her in the form of a broken window leading right into their solution. Rouge followed her gaze, only to give an unhappy sigh. 

“ _ You’re kidding _ , right?”

Amidst the absolute chaos of Sonic and Shadow combining their strengths to try and hold Scourge back, Amy jumped back into the fray to try and hit Lightning with her hammer. 

“Three down, two to go!” she shouted with glee. 

The ninja was quick to dodge, easily moving away from any of her advances. While he was fast, he could tell she was insanely strong. One hit and he’d go flying. Thankfully Fiona joined in, and with the two of them working together, they had the pink hedgehog down on her knees in a matter of minutes. With a heavy blow to her gut, the Amy gasped for breath as it was completely knocked out of her. 

“Would you care to do the honors?” the lynx asked as he motioned to the girl on the floor.

“ _ With pleasure _ ,” Fiona replied, raising her boot as she prepared to stomp out the pink hedgehog’s life. 

The squealing feedback of a microphone startled her enough to catch her attention, and before the fox could react, Amy swung a punch at Fiona’s exposed belly. A tune blasting from the speakers of the music shop was the last thing anyone around them expected. Even Scourge stopped his assault as Rouge slowly stepped across the broken glass. A tiny headset clung to her ear with a skinny microphone that extended down in front of her mouth. 

Glancing to the rabbit who grinned and gave her a thumbs up, Rouge gave a pout. _ She was going to get Clover for this _ . 

“ _ I like the way you smile at me~ I felt the heat that enveloped me~ _ ” the bat began to sing. 

Her body swayed to the music, stunning everyone to make them outright stare. Who the heck  _ sang  _ in the middle of a fight?! Fiona grit her teeth as Scourge smirked and followed along with the movements of Rouge’s hips. With a loud shout, the fox ran at the singing bat, only to have Clover jump in the way. 

“Keep going!” the rabbit called. “ _ Get your man! _ ”

Fire flashed in Fiona’s eyes, and the fox threw punches left and right. Clover raised her arms to try and protect herself from the blows, thanking her lucky stars that she’d completely drained Flying Frog. Had she not, Fiona’s hits would have felt far worse. 

The screaming between the two girls was getting picked up on the microphone, despite Rouge’s best efforts to sing louder. Thus, the bat unfurled her wings and made her way up into the air gracefully. 

“ _ But something drew me near to you~ _ ” she continued on, motioning for Scourge to come to her. 

The super hedgehog’s attention fell away from the exhausted Sonic below him, and even the stunned Shadow. All his eyes could do was follow the exquisite figure in the air. Rouge had always been his most beautiful conquest. Despite Fiona’s discomfort, he’d even voiced his love for the bat’s body. To him, she was the most beautiful creature on Mobius Prime, or any version of the planet that he’d seen to date. While he should’ve had better judgement, he didn’t hesitate to float up towards the alluring bat.

Despite the fact that she knew she wouldn’t be able to break through the skin or fur on Fiona’s body, Clover chomped down as hard as she could on the fox’s neck. Sure she couldn’t fully bite, but from the scream the other girl let out, it obviously  _ hurt _ . Lightning grasped the rabbit’s hips, yanking her off of Fiona and all but throwing her off to the side. The injured fox let out a growl as she turned her gaze up to the sky.

“Would you  _ quit thinking with your dick _ for  _ once  _ in your life?!”

To which Scourge’s only reply was to flip Fiona off. His gaze never left Rouge as the bat pressed herself against him. Her lips collided with the super hedgehog’s own as her body pushed his forward until he felt his back flat against what he assumed was a wall. 

Her kiss was so searing hot that Scourge felt as though his insides were melting and fireworks were going off both in his mind and down below his belt. He’d dreamed of having his arms back around Rouge, and he’d even gone so far as to fantasize about her while with other women. Now as his hands slid down her waist towards her bottom, he felt her grasp his wrists and pin them back on either side of his head, and  _ damn was that ever hot _ !

The hedgehog felt himself in a daze as she pulled her lips away. Despite the fact that he wanted more, he allowed her to keep him pinned there as he smirked up at her. 

“Guess you’re not mad at me anymore are you, babe?” he chuckled out. 

“Oh no, I’m over it now,” Rouge replied. 

In a surprisingly quick motion, she pushed herself off of the star pad and called down to Tails. The young fox nodded, flipping the switch before Scourge realized that something was amiss. 

A blinding pain shot through the hedgehog’s body as electricity surged through him. Despite his increased strength, Scourge couldn’t seem to pull himself off of the rounded pad. It felt as though his very essence was being drained. The magenta color of his super form began to leech away along with every ounce of strength he had, and as he tried to flail and scream, the machine itself began to bounce and bob around uncontrollably. 

Try as he might to bring it under control, Tails felt his eyes grow wide. It was growing more unstable by the minute, and despite his desire to fix it, he felt Clover yank him away from it before he could try to cut the power supply. 

“It’s gonna blow!” Lightning shouted, grasping Fiona and running away from it as fast as his legs could carry the two of them. 

_ And blow it did _ !

The explosion was enough to shatter all of the windows in the area, and it sent a very super Scourge flying through the air to barrel right into a semi-conscious Sergeant Simian. Smoke filled the area, completely covering everyone’s line of sight. Tiny little electric currents phased through here and there. By the time they could all see again, the entire Destructix team was missing. 

“Well… it was worth a try,” Sonic choked out.

“What even  _ happened _ ?” Shadow asked. 

“I don’t know,” Tails admitted. “It seemed to be working at first. I wonder if there was just too much power to handle?”

“Looks like we’ll need to re-group and think all of this over,” Rouge sighed out. 

To think, she’d done all of that for nothing.  _ She’d kissed Scourge for nothing _ . Eugh, she felt like she needed a bath just  _ thinking  _ about it.

“I’m sorry guys,” Amy whimpered. “I really thought it would work.”

Sonic smiled, reaching to pat the poor girl on the bath. She’d done her best. No one could fault her for anything that happened. They simply hadn’t had enough time to make sure her idea could work fully according to plan. 

“Hey uh… guys?” Clover called, staring at the base of the machine. “What do we do with  _ him _ ?”

As the group turned to see what the rabbit was pointing at, they were greeted with the sight of  _ Scourge  _ on the ground, powerless and out cold.

“Wait… wasn’t Scourge still super when he was blasted off of that thing?” Amy asked.

“Oh great,” Sonic groaned, reaching to rub his temples. “Now there’s  _ two  _ of him.”


	6. Voice of Rage and Ruin

**“What is** **_wrong_ ** **with all of you?!”** Scourge seethed as he looked over the weakened Destructix. 

The sheer volume of the magenta hedgehog’s voice had Fiona flinching. She had no idea how he was still super. There was no way his last transformation lasted anywhere near as long as this one did, and that one involved far more Anarchy Beryl. 

“We weren’t  _ prepared _ ,” Lightning protested, puffing his chest in a show of dominance. “You told us we were up against  _ teenagers _ .”

“The time between zones can always vary,” Simian grunted out as he shifted Flying Frog on his shoulder. “Had we gone to a zone we were familiar with, we would have known roughly how much time had passed. This dimension is new to all of us.”

**“I did not spend** **_three years_ ** **in that stupid prison to be denied my revenge!”** Scourge yowled out. 

“I was promised a  _ hunt _ ,” Predator Hawk grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the hedgehog. 

**“And** **_I_ ** **was promised a team that was strong enough to take out Sonic’s** **_little friends_ ** **,”** Scourge growled back, shoving his face right up against the hawk’s beak. 

“They  _ are  _ strong enough,” Fiona protested. “ _ We _ are strong enough, so long as we have some sort of  _ plan _ . Any team can fall apart with  _ bad leadership _ .”

**“** **_Excuse me?_ ** **”**

The murderous look in the hedgehog’s eyes was the last thing the fox expected to be thrown her way. In all of their history, he’d never actively tried to hurt her. He’d left her behind to clean up his mess, yeah sure, but never before had she feared for her life from Scourge himself. The way he stepped towards her had every nerve in her body screaming to  _ run _ . 

Lightning was quick to place himself between the two of them, prepared for a brawl should the need arise. His actions caused Scourge to stop and raise a brow.

**“** **_Oh, really now_ ** **?”** the hedgehog laughed out.  **“I see what’s goin’ on now.”**

His manic laughter sent a tremble of fear through the fox. Whether it was the Beryl he’d used to power up or the time he’d spent in prison, something was _ horribly wrong _ with Scourge. Or perhaps it was that strange machine Sonic’s team had used on him. 

**“** **_You fuckin’ hypocrite_ ** **,”** Scourge spat out.  **“You get upset with** **_me_ ** **for messing around with other chicks, but it’s okay for** **_you_ ** **to start messing around with another guy?”**

“Wha--Scourge  _ I didn’t-- _ ” Fiona tried to protest. 

**“I can’t believe the shit you were spewing,”** he interrupted her.  **“All that crap-talk about** **_‘love’_ ** **and** **_‘loyalty_ ** **.’** **_It was all bull_ ** **.”**

“She didn’t do any--”

Lightning’s words were cut off with a motion as simple as a backhand slap from the super hedgehog, sending him flying out of the way. Fiona shrank back as Scourge stepped forward, grasping the front of her shirt to lift her off the ground. 

**“I’ll teach you to turn against me. I’ll teach** **_all_ ** **of you!”**

\---

Voices swirled around his head as the hedgehog fought to regain consciousness. His head felt murky, clouded with the unfamiliarity of something tight wrapped around his upper body.

“I think he’s coming around,” came a familiar voice. 

“Was your workshop  _ really  _ the best place to bring him?”

“It was the closest cover we had. It’s not like we could stay out on the street like that.”

“What the heck are we gonna do with him?”

“I dunno, but we need to figure out how he split apart like that.”

_ Split apart _ ? Scourge groaned as his eyes fluttered open. Focusing was hard, and for the longest time all he could see were blurs of color around him. 

“ _ Whossat _ ?” he grumbled. “Where  _ am  _ I?”

“He doesn’t look so good.”

“ _ Who cares _ ?”

“I don’t think we need to worry. My readings are showing that his strength has been reduced. He’s weaker than we’ve ever seen him, and I think it’s permanent.”

Scourge’s eyes flew wide open at that. That voice was familiar enough. It was Sonic’s little mechanic friend, right? The  _ genius _ ?

“Who the  _ fuck  _ you callin’  _ weak _ , squirt?!” he yelled, squirming in his bonds. 

The more he fought, the more he found that perhaps the fox was right. In the past, he would have been able to spin-dash in place and decimate the ropes holding him down. For some reason now, he could barely manage to squirm. 

Maybe Tails was wrong. Maybe it  _ wasn’t  _ permanent. Maybe he was just weak from whatever the heck they’d done to him.  _ Yeah _ ! Yeah that  _ had  _ to be it! Damn, he  _ hoped  _ that was it. The more he thought about the possibility of being physically weak for the rest of his life, the more Scourge began to panic. 

“Woah, woah, easy there.”

The hedgehog turned his glare upward, finding himself looking at a familiar face:  _ the rabbit from the bar.  _

_ Seriously _ ?! She was involved in all of this too?

“Let him struggle,” Shadow scoffed. “It’s kind of amusing.”

“You  _ dick _ !” Scourge shouted. 

“Would everyone just stop yelling for a moment?” Rouge huffed. “You’re all giving me a headache.”

“All I wanna know is:  _ what the hell’s going on _ ?” 

Sonic reached down to pat Scourge's shoulder. 

“You and me both, buddy. You and me both.”

The green hedgehog gave a growl, gritting his teeth. As much as he didn’t want Sonic touching him right now or calling him “buddy,” he took a small bit of satisfaction in knowing that the hero had no idea what was going on either. At the very least, he wasn’t the only one left in the dark. 

“I say we just toss him back in jail,” Amy sighed. “Then we can focus on the  _ other  _ Scourge.”

“What do you mean ‘ _ other Scourge _ ’? Someone mentioned me being  _ split _ . What does that  _ mean _ ?”

“Look…,” Sonic started, sitting himself on the floor beside the other hedgehog. “We tried to use a machine to pull all of the extra energy out of you.”

“You  _ what _ ?!”

“Buuuut it kinda…  _ backfired _ ?” Sonic continued sheepishly, giving a shrug. “It looks like instead of just draining your power, it sorta split you into two. So one of you is powerful, and one of you is not.”

Scourge was less than amused as he laid there on the ground. Oh boy, did he ever want to throttle whoever came up with  _ that  _ idea. 

“Ya’ll are fucked up, you know that?”

Try as she might to keep a straight face, Clover let out a quiet chuckle at that. The situation wasn’t funny in the slightest and she knew it. Now they had  _ two  _ Scourges to deal with, and while one of them was currently taken care of, none of them knew what he was or wasn’t still capable of. What was worse was the fact that the Scourge out on the streets seemed to be more powerful than ever. Having two of them around meant that someone was going to need to stay behind and keep the green boy out of trouble while the others went after the magenta menace. 

“We could  _ really  _ use those Chaos Emeralds right about now,” Rouge noted, glancing at Clover.

With a nod, the rabbit attempted to hail the Babylon Rogues over her communicator. 

“Jet, what’s your status? How are you guys doing with the Chaos Emeralds?”

“Nearly done,” came the reply from the other end. “We’re picking up the last one now before we head back. How are things on your end?”

Clover hesiated, once more looking over the unhappy hedgehog on the ground. 

“Things are…  _ complicated _ . Just hurry back and be careful, okay?”

“Aww,  _ you miss me that much _ ?” Jet teased. 

“She just wants your shit, bruh!” Scourge yelled. “Don’t trust her!”

“Like you’ve really got room to talk,” Rouge huffed. 

“Who’s that?” came Jet’s voice over the com.

“ _ That _ is part of the complication. I’ll explain when you get here,” the rabbit promised.

Scourge grumbled as he laid his head down against the concrete. Though he just looked angry on the outside, inside he was having a bit of an existential crisis. Who were these guys to say there were two of him? He was the  _ one and only _ Scourge! There were  _ no  _ duplicates. Duplicates of  _ Sonic _ , yes. Of  _ Scourge _ ? There was _ no way _ !

_ Even if there was a strange, itchy, nagging feeling in the back of his mind _ .

Something suddenly felt  _ off _ . Clover’s ears perked as Scourge made a strange little noise. A shiver ran from the tip of his tail up to the top of his head, making all of his spines stand on end. Cold surged through him, and yet he somehow felt as though his core was burning from the inside out. 

“Hey assholes… anyone else feel that?” he asked, shaking uncontrollably where he lay.

“Don’t try and distract us,” Shadow huffed. “We’re not untying you.”

“I’m not asking to be  _ untied _ !” Scourge protested, squirming in place. “I’m saying something’s  _ wrong _ . Something’s  _ real fuckin’ wrong _ !”

He could feel a surge of power rushing toward them and a deep anger radiating from it with a fury he’d never felt from another living being. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Sonic asked, admittedly feeling concern for his double. For all any of them knew, his body was being affected by the split.  _ If only that had actually been the case _ . 

Before anyone could do much of anything, the sound of ripping metal and breaking wood met their ears. Tiny splinters rained down upon them as the roof was quite literally ripped away, and there in the opening was a very familiar super hedgehog.

**“** **_Heeeere’s Scourgey_ ** **!”**


	7. In For Nasty Weather

Demented laughter poured from the magenta menace as he floated down through the open roof. The grin plastered across his face was enough to make even Sonic shiver. Had those pearly whites somehow grown  _ sharper  _ with the transfer of power? 

“Sonic,  _ what do we do _ ?” Amy asked, holding the handle of her hammer tightly. 

Normally the pink hedgehog was more than willing to come up with ideas. She’d grown quite good at it over the years, even taking command of Restoration HQ to help clean up the mess Eggman left behind from his whole Infinite episode. However Amy also remembered their last encounter with Super Scourge. It took Sonic pulling him away from the group and tricking him into powering down for the blue blur to finally beat him. Otherwise the evil hedgehog had been far too powerful.

_ But now _ ? Now he didn’t seem to be  _ able  _ to power down. They were stuck with him like that whether they liked it or not. 

The floating hedgehog rolled his eyes as he watched them flounder under him. To think that they all still somehow thought they could win the war.  _ How pathetic _ . 

“How did you find this place?” Shadow asked, narrowing his eyes at the other. 

“Well that’s easy,” Super Scourge laughed. “You lead me right to you.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the green hedgehog on the floor. There Scourge lay, still shivering and feeling downright awful. Being so close to the super hedgehog had him feeling more and more drained by the second, and it bothered the ever-loving crap out of him! 

“How did you--” Sonic started, only to have the floating hedgehog land a missile kick right into his chest.

The blue hedgehog slid across the floor, gasping for the breath that had been so easily knocked out of him. Amy was quick to rush to his side as the beast let out another hearty laugh. 

“Now the question is, who do I get rid of  _ first _ ?” he asked with that same manic grin plastered over his face. “The blue  _ blunder  _ who’s been a thorn in my side since day one? His mall-goth wanna-be copy? His little girlfriend? His pet?  _ Oh! I know! _ ”

Rather than zoning in on any of the heros in the room, the magenta menace scooped down to pick up the green hedgehog from his place on the floor. The original Scourge sputtered in shock, but before he could speak an icy grip closed in around his neck. 

“You’re too damn  _ weak _ ,” the magenta beast growled. “No hard feelings, handsome. There can only be  _ one  _ of us, and a  _ weak  _ Scourge _ isn’t a Scourge at all. _ ”

The green hedgehog squirmed in his double’s grasp, trying his best to fight his way out of his restraints. Between his weakened state, his pruned spines, and the fact that he simply couldn’t  _ move _ , there was  _ no way _ he was fighting out of this. 

“Long live the king, baby,” Super Scourge laughed out. 

“ _ I see no king here! _ ”

The shout made its way to the super hedgehog too late. Scourge was ripped from the beast’s grasp and he could feel himself spinning in circles before he was hurled through the air and out of the workshop. As the green menace found himself wheezing for air, his blurry vision settled in on a familiar, much more pale hedgehog.

“Silver!” Sonic exclaimed. 

In an instant the blue blur was on his feet. 

“You here because you saw a disturbance in the future again?” he asked with a smirk. 

“Something like that,” Silver chuckled. “What happened here?”

“No time to explain,” Tails interrupted. “We need to get to work on getting Super Scourge under control.”

“Right,” Sonic agreed, tapping his foot against the ground quickly in thought. 

There was only one way he knew to get rid of the beast before them, but it was a risky move and there wasn’t any way to pin him down until they got their hands on the chaos emeralds. 

“First thing’s first,” Shadow piped up. 

Before anyone could react, the dark hedgehog threw a punch at their captive Scourge hard enough to knock him out cold. 

“W-woah, woah!” Silver protested, pushing himself between the hedgehog he was still holding up and Shadow. “I know he’s horrid, but he’s tied up. What was  _ that  _ for?”

“It’s because he’s linked with Super Scourge, right?” Tails chirped, risking a glance back at the others as his fingers flew over a nearby keyboard. “They have some sort of  _ mental bond _ where Super Scourge can  _ see _ and  _ feel _ everything around normal Scourge as long as he’s awake, so you knocked him out to keep that from happening. Wow,  _ smart move _ , Shadow!”

“... Yeah, yeah  _ that _ .” He definitely didn’t just really need to put greenie in his place right then. 

“O-Oh... uh… Okay then.”

There was nothing Silver could do but take his word on that.

“ _ Incoming _ !” Rouge cried out, pointing to the magenta hedgehog that was making his way towards the group.

“Right,” Sonic noted. 

There was no getting around it. It was all or nothing at this point. 

“Silver, you take  _ this _ Scourge and hide somewhere safe,” Sonic ordered, pointing at the unconscious lump on the floor. “Somewhere he’d never think to go. Keep the others updated. Tails, Amy, Rouge, and Clover, you all head to Tails’s back-up workshop. I need you to try your best to get a hold of Zonic and send him our way. And see if you can update the Babylon Rogues on the situation.”

“Right,” Silver agreed, nodding along with the others. 

As the team dispersed, Sonic and Shadow shared a glance. 

“I don’t think I need to tell you where to go,” the blue blur chuckled out.

Shadow simply smirked. He already knew what was about to go down. The two of them were going to do their best to keep Super Scourge distracted and on the chase while they waited for the Rogues to bring back the Chaos Emeralds. 

As the pair did a synchronized spin-dash at their enemy, their thoughts were similar enough:  _ They only hoped the gems were brought back to them in time _ . 

Scourge in his  _ normal  _ state had conquered his home zone of Moebius in a matter of  _ weeks _ . When he was super, it would probably only take him  _ days  _ to burn their own zone to the ground. 


	8. Bad Times Today

With all of his friends safely out of the way, Sonic did his best to try and work together with Shadow to keep the beast at bay. This version of Super Scourge was  _ far worse _ than he could have imagined. The last time Scourge had given him a run for his money, but with a simple manipulation tactic he’d won the day. But now?

_ Now they were getting their asses handed to them _ . 

There was no way to power this version of Scourge down, and there was no way to outlast him when he had as much energy as he currently did. Their only hope at this point was with the Babylon Rogues and the Chaos Emeralds. 

Pain shot through the blue hedgehog as his body was slammed into Shadow’s and both of them were sent barreling into the asphalt. He could feel his skin burning where he slid along the street, and his breathing was far more labored than he’d hoped it would be. 

“Shadow... you okay?”

The ultimate life form gave a groan in response as he tried to pull himself back up again. 

“M’fine,” he replied, narrowing his eyes at the magenta hedgehog above them. “But I don’t know how much longer we can hold out.”

Other options were running through Shadow’s mind as he watched Scourge carefully. He  _ could  _ take off his inhibitor rings to try and buy them some time, but that always exhausted his energy completely and if the other hedgehog still managed to beat him down, then it would possibly be a waste of energy. He had to wait until the right moment to try something that risky. 

Thankfully a new distraction presented itself. As Scourge laughed at the two hedgehogs on the ground, a sudden impact sent him back a few feet. Fiona and Lightning landed in front of Sonic, their eyes trained on the super menace. 

“Switching sides, huh?” Sonic teased.

“ _ Hardly _ ,” the fox spat back out. “I’ve had  _ enough  _ of this guy, and if  _ you  _ don’t take care of him,  _ we’re next. _ ”

“Think of it as a temporary truce,” Lightning agreed. “But I still hate you for everything you’ve put me through, Sonic.”

“Duly noted,” Sonic chuckled. 

Shadow raised a brow in curiosity, but now wasn’t the time to be asking for backstories.  _ Especially not when an enraged Scourge was coming their way _ . 

\---

“Jet, what’s your location?” Tails called out over the communicator. 

“Calm down, we’re almost there,” the hawk huffed out. “Keep your overalls on.”

“We’re running out of time,” Rouge responded. “Sonic and Shadow  _ need  _ those Chaos Emeralds.”

“Isn’t Sonic supposed to be the fastest thing on land?” Jet asked with a laugh. “Can’t he outrun this guy for a few more minutes?”

“Uh… Jet?” 

Wave’s voice above the wind caught the hawk’s attention, and as he looked to the swallow she pointed down into the city. Down below were Sonic, Shadow, and two he didn’t recognize being absolutely blown away by a magenta hedgehog with rage issues that would put Jet’s own past tantrums to shame. 

“ _ Nevermind, I think I get it _ ,” Jet said, quickly severing the com’s link. “Storm!”

The albatross nodded, pulling off the bag of gems to toss it to his boss. Jet caught them with ease and pushed the nose of his gear to swoop down towards the two hedgehogs in danger. His teammates kept themselves tight on his tail. 

Sonic’s body hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from his lungs. He could taste blood in his mouth, and the way Shadow’s body shook as the dark hedgehog tried to get up was really starting to have him worried. Poor Lightning was flung through a window of the nearest building, and for now it looked like the lynx was down for the count. Meanwhile, Fiona was  _ barely  _ managing to dodge the intensifying blows from her  _ now ex _ . 

“ _ We can’t keep this up _ ,” Sonic gasped out. 

Something had to give, and pretty soon that something was going to be their bodies. However a loud cry of his name from above had the hedgehog’s hopes rising. As he turned his head to the sky, he caught sight of Jet just in time to see a brown bag thrown his way. 

Unfortunately, this meant that Super Scourge  _ also  _ noticed the avians in the air. The magenta menace let out an annoyed groan.

_ “Really, Sonic?  _ You should know by now that calling for back-up isn’t gonna do any good!”

As Jet flew past him, Scourge easily back-handed the bird right out of the air. The beast caught the hawk’s extreme gear, used it to swat the remaining two “pests” away from himself, and then proceeded to break it in half as though it was as weak as a popsicle-stick. 

“You’re just giving me more toys to break,” the magenta hedgehog laughed out. 

“Oh, they weren’t the back-up,” Sonic smirked as he and Shadow pulled the Emeralds out of the bag. “They were the  _ cavalry _ .”

Despite his now aching jaw, Jet grinned as Storm tried to pull him off of the ground. While he and Sonic rarely saw eye to eye, it was nice to know that they were being given credit for a job well done. 

“ _ What _ ?” Scourge hissed. 

“Shall we?” Shadow asked with a sigh. “I don’t think I can stand listening to him drone on any longer.”

“Yeah, let’s do this!”

A bright light formed around the two as they focused on opening themselves to the intense power before them. Scourge let out a snarl as he flew towards the two to try and stop them, only to be thrown back with the sheer force of the Chaos Emeralds giving themselves to the two hedgehogs. A cold feeling gripped his stomach as he watched the two now golden hedgehogs preparing themselves for an attack. 

“ _ Oh shi-- _ ”

Fiona found herself grinning from ear to ear as she watched Shadow and Sonic spin-dash themselves at the magenta menace over and over again. As strange as it felt to be rooting for anyone but Scourge, it was nice to see him finally put in his place. It did seem strange that he was somehow still super, but at this point she wasn’t going to question it. The fox knew she needed to figure out where poor Lightning had been thrown, but for now the lynx was probably safe and it was more fun to watch her ex get the ass-kicking of his life.

_ What she wasn’t expecting was the sudden appearance of an inhibitor collar around her neck _ . 

Her strangled cry was enough to gain Scourge’s attention. Sure in his mind she’d betrayed him, but her cry hadn’t come from one of  _ his  _ attacks, and that meant something was  _ wrong _ . He let out a loud growl as he tried to throw Sonic back. His sudden worry for his lady had the beast pushing back stronger and harder than he’d been able to before. 

“Get  _ off _ , you weaklings!” he shouted, his fist making hard contact with Shadow’s face. 

While they’d seemed to have the upper hand for those first few minutes, Scourge was rapidly making a comeback. His resolve was far stronger than they’d anticipated, and he wasn’t the type to hold  _ anything  _ back.

It wasn’t until he finally pushed past the two other hedgehogs that he felt the cold grip of a very familiar collar coil around his neck. Just like that, Scourge’s powers evaporated, leaving him little more than a husk of his former, glorious self. His muscles seized, and all at once he pitched forward, completely helpless.

Man, he’d forgotten what a  _ bitch _ inhibitor collars where when they first went on!

Standing behind him was the one and only Zonic the Zone-cop, and boy did  _ he  _ look unamused! Or at least, Sonic was  _ pretty sure _ he was unamused. It was always hard to tell with that stupid helmet on.


	9. One Eye Is Taken For An Eye

Zonic let out a sigh as he slammed the door to the Zone Cop cruiser shut. To think, he’d hoped that Scourge would just stay in his home zone and only cause trouble there. Perhaps that was asking far too much of the beast that managed to break out of the No-Zone when no other criminal had. What surprised him however, was that most of his team was missing. The only other one at this strange little fight was Fiona, whom poor Zespio was struggling with. 

Inhibitor collar or not, she was still full of fire. 

The vehicle holding Super Scourge lifted into the air, zooming straight through a newly created portal to head back into the No-Zone. There was one problem taken care of, at the very least.

“Thanks for the tip-off,” Zonic said, turning to face Sonic. “Without Tails calling us, we might not have picked up that he was here until it was too late.”

“Some cop  _ you  _ are,” Sonic laughed out.

“Like  _ you’re _ one to talk. You’re nothing but trouble.”

Despite the exasperation in Zonic’s voice, the cop still let out a chuckle of amusement. They had never fully seen eye-to-eye on certain matters, but at the very least they still had one thing in common: They wanted as many beings as possible safe, no matter what the zone.

“He’s not going to stay down without a fight,” Shadow interjected. “How do you plan on dealing with him?”

“Oh, we plan on keeping him in solitary confinement,” Zonic admitted. “It’s strange that he can’t seem to come down from being super, but we’ve dealt with worse. His two buddies, Al and Cal are actually  _ Gods _ . The inhibitor collars take care of their strength. What’s most worrisome about Scourge is his  _ charisma _ .”

Prior to meeting the Destructix, Scourge had been imprisoned for  _ three years _ . Through sheer wit alone, he managed to bend the whole lot of criminals to his will and escape within  _ days _ . That was frightening enough as it was. It didn’t help that Fiona was now back under custody and she seemed to have a similar silver tongue.

“We’ll be keeping him away from the other prisoners. We’ll probably be doing the same with this one, too,” Zonic admitted, pointing at the fox with his thumb. “At least until we can figure out which other prison we’ll be transferring her to. Keeping them together isn’t the best idea. I told our  _ dear warden _ that from the get-go, and he didn’t believe me. Now he understands the  _ severity  _ of the situation.”

“What kind of warden do you guys even have?” Jet asked, reaching to rub his jaw where Scourge had previously hit him. 

“Not a very smart one,” Zonic admitted with a sigh. “I suppose I should go now. I should be there when the transport pulls Scourge out. Otherwise they might put him in the wrong area.”

“Yeah, sure,” Sonic chuckled out. “You take care now.”

Not paying much attention to the chameleon still trying to fight Fiona into the back of his own vehicle, Zonic climbed into the passenger seat and motioned for Znuckles to drive. It wasn’t until it was all the way through the portal that Zespio really realized that he would need assistance. 

“Would... someone mind--” he muttered out, unable to finish before Fiona slammed her head back into his face. 

Despite her handcuffs, the fox reached into the pouch at her hip and managed to pull out one of her warp rings. 

“You’re not takin’ me back there!” she screamed, trying desperately to think of someplace that wasn’t  _ there _ . 

Someplace deserted. Someplace the zone cops wouldn’t ever think to look for her. Sonic rushed forward as she threw the ring. In a mad dash, both the blue hedgehog and Zector whom had just climbed out of the driver’s seat rushed to grasp her and shove her into the back of the vehicle. The ring flew off into the air, and the portal opened exactly where both Shadow and Jet stood. 

There wasn’t enough time for either of them to make a sound of surprise, nor was there enough time for them to get out of the way. In fact, Jet had no idea what a warp ring was even capable of. He’d  _ heard  _ of them, but never  _ experienced  _ them. The bird’s teammates called out to him, only catching a glance of sand, sun, and a broken down old cityscape before the portal closed down in front of them. 

Just like that, the hedgehog and the hawk were gone. 

“Thanks for that,” Zespio said, locking Fiona in the back of the hovercar. 

The two cops were quick to get into the vehicle. Honestly the two remaining Rogues weren’t sure if they either hadn’t seen what had just happened or if they just didn’t care. It wasn’t until it had lifted off that Sonic finally put two and two together, himself.

“H-hey, wait!” He called out, trying to wave them down. “Wait we need your--!”

And just like that, _ they were gone _ . 

Determination filled Sonic’s eyes as he grabbed Wave’s extreme gear from her. Despite her protests, the hedgehog jumped onto it and headed for the remaining portal, only to barely miss it closing right before him. 

Sure their main problem was taken care of, but now he was down two friends and wasn’t even sure where they were sent. Were they even still in this  _ zone _ ?

“Did you guys… see anything?” he asked, lowering himself back down to the ground. 

“Just a lotta sand,” Storm replied sadly. “And some broken down buildings.”

“Anything you recognized.”

Wave shook her head. She remembered every place they went to, and even kept files on them that she would sometimes re-read through.

“It’s a place I’ve never seen before. I feel like we would have known if that existed here, but… maybe I missed something?” 

It  _ bothered her _ that she couldn’t seem to recall it. The swallow was smart. She _ took pride _ in knowing everything about the world. Everything she could, anyway. Now there was a possibility that her leader and friend had been sent somewhere she couldn’t reach. That just didn’t sit right with Wave. 

“What are we gonna do?” She asked. 

Sonic tapped his foot in thought. If he talked to Tails about it, he was sure they could figure out a way to track them down. Maybe his sensors could pick up the flash of the anomaly and he could pick out which zone they’d wound up in. 

However one new thought made Sonic’s blood run cold.

  
“ _ Clover’s gonna kill me _ .”


	10. Epilogue

With that single flash of light, everything around them shifted in a way that Jet was unprepared for. Unlike Shadow, the bird had never once gone through a dimensional portal of any kind. The hedgehog had enough experience to brace himself for whatever they were dropping into, even going so far as to grab hold of the hawk’s arm to keep Jet stable as they fell.

Sure he didn’t like the guy, but that didn’t mean that he was willing to let him possibly fall to his death. 

Heat surrounded them, and the brightness didn’t seem to fade even as their bodies hit the ground below. Shadow let out a soft grunt whereas Jet let out a loud, unceremonious squawk at the impact. The hawk had almost forgotten how much it hurt to wipe-out on sand. 

The desert around them was unfamiliar. Buildings poked out from the dunes looking more ragged than any city either of them had ever seen. The ruins Jet was used to seeing were far older. These buildings looked like the ones he’d seen not five minutes ago in the city. Yet somehow time had ravaged them in a way he never could have imagined. 

“Where is everybody?” Jet asked. 

Shadow scanned the horizon, not seeing a single living soul. An ear perked up at something coming from the buildings before them. It sounded familiar, but not familiar enough for him to place right away. 

“It looks like this place hasn’t been inhabited for  _ years _ ,” the dark hedgehog replied. “I wonder if this dimension’s Eggman had anything to do with it.”

“ _ This dimension _ ?” 

Shadow rolled his eyes. He had to constantly remind himself that not everyone knew about warp rings, zones, or dimensional travel. It made sense as to why the hawk had no idea who Scourge was. He hadn’t been there for the first epic battle with the monster. 

“That thing we went through just now? It was a  _ warp ring _ ,” Shadow sighed as he hoisted himself up from the sand. 

“Wait,  _ those still exist _ ?” Jet sputtered as he followed suit. “I thought those were just  _ legends _ .”

“They are now,” the hedgehog continued. “They mostly exist in other Zones and can sometimes be trafficked over to ours. They’re highly illegal, as is most Zone-travel.”

“And a Zone is…?”

“ _ Another Dimension _ .”

Oh man, this was a lot to take in. And here Jet was thinking that the ancient Babylonians being  _ aliens  _ was weird. Now dimensional travel was a real thing too. Somehow he felt as though he shouldn’t be surprised. 

“Alright, so how do we get back home?” the hawk asked, trying to dust himself off. 

“We have to figure out what we’re dealing with first,” Shadow admitted. “But the most logical course of action would be to find Tails or whoever else is the smartest tech-builder here. Or if we can’t manage that, we find this world’s version of Eggman and see if we can get into his lab to steal some of  _ his  _ machines.”

There was no guarantee it would work, but it was better than standing around in the sun waiting to become dehydrated and starving to death. Jet gave a laugh and a grin. 

“Good thing you’ve got one of the best thieves in the biz on your side then, huh?” he preened, pointing to himself with his thumb. 

Shadow grumbled in reply. He would have  _ prefered  _ to have been banished here with  _ Rouge _ , but he supposed Jet would have to do. The bird  _ was  _ still a world-class thief, after all. 

A sound off beyond one of the buildings made Shadow tense up. There it was again. It was so familiar that it was driving him mad trying to figure out what the heck it was.  _ Thankfully he didn’t need to wait long for his answer _ .

A large truck barreled through the city at top-speed. At its wheel sat a blue bird of some kind, grinning wildly as he pulled it around the corner and finally allowed it to stop. Up on top of the truck sat a mint-colored bobcat with a surprisingly large gun. It was amazing that he could even hold it with such a small frame. The two were all smiles until their sights fell upon the unfamiliar beings in the sand. 

Rather than shouting or calling out over a radio, the bobcat pulled his fingers to his lips and whistled out for their leader. The sound easily caught her sensitive ears, and before they knew it she was upon them. All the while, the bobcat trained his gun on the two and the bird hoisted himself out of the truck.

Something, or rather someone, shot through the buildings far too quickly to be running. A very familiar pink hoverboard came to a stop in front of them as the rabbit on top stopped to look them over. A strange mask covered her face completely from sight, but both the hedgehog and the hawk knew that pink hair and spotty fur anywhere. 

“ _ Clover?! _ ”


End file.
